Dick

United

Cybersecurity firm Cybertrace has published a warning over a convincing deep fake video of Australian mining magnate and businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest promoting a fake crypto trading platform on social media.
The video emerged on Facebook, urging users to sign up for a fraudulent platform that purports to make “ordinary people” thousands of dollars daily.&nbsp;Potential victims are reportedly taken to a website called “Quantum AI,” which Cybertrace says has become a synonymous name associated with scams and financial fraud.
Cybertrace CEO Dan Halpin <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/andrew-forrest-deepfake-video-scam-targets-aussies/news-story/6c53931854a4f30d2a593615a74bade9?amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">commented</a>&nbsp;to The Australian that he believes “people will be fooled by this deepfake,” as the scammers appeared trained in sales.
“The video is long and in many ways repetitive, which can be quite convincing, and appears to have been created by someone with knowledge of sales and marketing,” he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 Cybertrace Investigators have identified a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/deepfake?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#deepfake</a> video of Australian businessman Andrew Forrest. The original video was posted to the &nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/rhodes_trust?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rhodes_trust</a> YouTube Channel. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ScamAlert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ScamAlert</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scam</a> <a href="https://t.co/4uLSD7cXWg">https://t.co/4uLSD7cXWg</a><a href="https://twitter.com/FortescueFuture?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FortescueFuture</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FortescueNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FortescueNews</a>— Cybertrace (@Cybertrace_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cybertrace_com/status/1752532335873106386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2024</a>
</blockquote> 
The fake video attempts to manipulate Forrest’s behavior and body language from a “fireside chat” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1Y22iC90Xo" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">conducted</a> by Rhodes Trust in October 2023.
Cybertrace <a href="https://www.cybertrace.com.au/the-quantumai-deception-navigating-the-latest-deepfakes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">said</a> it detected the deep fake on Facebook on Jan. 27, where an artificial intelligence (AI)-altered version of the billionaire can be seen promoting a fake crypto trading software.
“I want to give you the chance of a lifetime by joining me and my team as a partner in the world's smartest stock and cryptocurrency trading software that makes money [...] regardless of market conditions,” the AI-altered version of Forrest promised.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “It has been making ordinary people just like you $700 to $2,200 in profit a day for 9 months now without any problems, and pretty soon [it’ll] be doing the same for you.”
</blockquote>
Forrest is a former CEO of Western Australian mining firm Fortescue Metals Group. He is one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, boasting a net worth of $29.4 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/andrew-j-forrest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to Bloomberg.
The scam footage concludes with Forrest urging viewers to sign up to the platform before it’s too late.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-02/6f8ee475-5e63-45bc-9c35-1fa3b2423d18.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 A screenshot of the deep fake video of Andrew Forrest. Source: YouTube
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Cybertrace warned users to be extra cautious amid a recent spike in AI&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/here-s-how-to-quickly-spot-a-deepfake-crypto-scam-cybersecurity-execs">deep fake fraud</a>.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-michael-saylor-removing-80-ai-scam-videos-daily">Michael Saylor has been removing 80 deep fake videos of himself daily</a>
Deep fakes have also recently caught the attention of United States lawmakers following the widespread circulation of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-lawmakers-propose-quick-legislation-in-response-to-taylor-swift-deepfake">fake photos of Taylor Swift</a>. United States Representative Joe Morelle, in particular, wants to criminalize the production of deep fake images in the country.
Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart, entrepreneur Dick Smith, and TV host Allison Langdon have also been targeted by scammers creating these deep fake videos, Cybertrace noted.
The trend of impersonating high-profile Australian business people and politicians comes as <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/aussies-revealed-as-prime-targets-of-israel-crypto-scam-syndicate">Australians reported losing</a> more than 3.1 billion Australian dollars ($2 billion) to scams in 2022, <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Targeting%20scams%202022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to the country’s competition and consumer regulator. 
Another $148.3 million (221.3 million Australian dollars) was <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/australian-crypto-scams-increased-by-over-162-with-nearly-150m-lost">lost to investment scams</a> where cryptocurrency was used as the payment method in 2022 — a 162.4% increase from 2021. 
Magazine:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/scam-ai-kidnappings-20k-robot-chef-bill-ackman-plagiarism-war-ai-eye/">Scam AI ‘kidnappings,’ $20K robot chef, Ackman’s AI plagiarism war: AI Eye</a>

Cybertrace warns of deep fake crypto scam featuring Aussie billionaire

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Feb 2, 2024

Next Cryptocurrency To Explode Friday, February 2 – Solana, Cardano, Avalanche

Marathon Digital Snaps Up Two Bitcoin Mining Sites From Hut 8 For $13.5 Million

Binance and SEC at odds; Pullix may flip Uniswap in trading volume

Polygon Labs Lays Off 19% of Staff, CEO Cites Need to ‘Right-Size’

Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Prediction as BTC Spikes Up 2% and ETH Pushes Past $2,300

US Authorities Charge 3 People Linked With $400m FTX Attack

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!